Cruiseskier Posted November 19, 2022 #1 Share Posted November 19, 2022 Received a very good price from a travel agent on a Celebrity cruise as part of a group. When final payment was made, $200 of the final amount was charged to the travel agent and not Celebrity cruises. The final/total price was as quoted but $200 of the final price as mention was charged to the TA. Has anyone experience this practice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basenji56 Posted November 19, 2022 #2 Share Posted November 19, 2022 1 minute ago, Cruiseskier said: Received a very good price from a travel agent on a Celebrity cruise as part of a group. When final payment was made, $200 of the final amount was charged to the travel agent and not Celebrity cruises. The final/total price was as quoted but $200 of the final price as mention was charged to the TA. Has anyone experience this practice? Yes. Very common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruise Gopher Posted November 19, 2022 #3 Share Posted November 19, 2022 You need a new TA. This should never happen. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jelayne Posted November 19, 2022 #4 Share Posted November 19, 2022 I have had group pricing from a TA and every $ was paid direct to Celebrity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Cruiser 6143 Posted November 19, 2022 #5 Share Posted November 19, 2022 I have organized several group cruises and not a dime went to the TA except for her regular commission. It all went to Celebrity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miched Posted November 19, 2022 #6 Share Posted November 19, 2022 Some do charge a fee. I booked once with a double A airline. They changed $25 pp for the booking and any changes after that I made. If I change my cabin to a different location it was $25 If I asked for the reduced price it was $25. I used them once and done Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ipeeinthepools Posted November 20, 2022 #7 Share Posted November 20, 2022 3 hours ago, Cruiseskier said: Received a very good price from a travel agent on a Celebrity cruise as part of a group. When final payment was made, $200 of the final amount was charged to the travel agent and not Celebrity cruises. The final/total price was as quoted but $200 of the final price as mention was charged to the TA. Has anyone experience this practice? Just a good lesson to get all of your quotes in writing so you can see these sort of fees. I would never use a TA charged fees over and above the commission from the cruise line. It may still be a good deal, only you can judge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarboy53 Posted November 20, 2022 #8 Share Posted November 20, 2022 This recently happened to me. I found a really great rate on a weekly travel email that I receive and it directed me to an online travel agency. After booking and paying in full, a couple days later I was charged $198 as a booking fee. I immediately emailed my contact at the company and she promised to get this refunded. I guess the lesson here is get everything in writing and be cautious of companies that you haven't worked with before. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the penguins Posted November 20, 2022 #9 Share Posted November 20, 2022 8 hours ago, miched said: Some do charge a fee. I booked once with a double A airline. They changed $25 pp for the booking and any changes after that I made. If I change my cabin to a different location it was $25 If I asked for the reduced price it was $25. I used them once and done Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅 In the case of the original poster there was no extra fee. The price paid was the price quoted it's just that the total was split into 2 parts. I don't see the issue. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BazingAu Posted November 20, 2022 #10 Share Posted November 20, 2022 If that is included in the total price you were quoted, I don’t see an issue. I assume you comparison shopped and they gave you a good deal, even with the fee included. However, just make sure you’re 100% paid up with the cruise line. I’ve seen posts where the TA forgets to route the final payment and the reservation gets cancelled. I ended up paying $25 in a recent booking to a TA, but it was included in the quote, and they did offset it with a $25 extra OBC. They said it was due to all the cancellations they’ve gotten during the pandemic and restart, so they have at least the minimum to keep their lights on/pay administrative costs if people were to cancel and not rebook. Even with the fee, they were right in line with other quotes I got (and much lower than direct with cruise line after all the bonuses and OBC). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruise Gopher Posted November 20, 2022 #11 Share Posted November 20, 2022 4 hours ago, the penguins said: In the case of the original poster there was no extra fee. The price paid was the price quoted it's just that the total was split into 2 parts. I don't see the issue. The agent jacked up the rate to take a portion for themselves. So if the cruise cost quoted was $1,200 and in reality the cruise line only was charging $1,000, then the agent took $200 as a fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremiah1212 Posted November 20, 2022 #12 Share Posted November 20, 2022 A TA can charge whatever they want for their service. The high volume agencies typically don't. Small agencies are more likely to do it. If this is in reference to a specific group traveling together opposed to just a group discount, I would say it's pretty common to charge. It's a lot of work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxsales Posted November 20, 2022 #13 Share Posted November 20, 2022 17 hours ago, Cruise Gopher said: You need a new TA. This should never happen. wrong this happens frequently especially if the travel agents group has added extras like transportation, shore excursion or an on board gathering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxsales Posted November 20, 2022 #14 Share Posted November 20, 2022 7 hours ago, the penguins said: In the case of the original poster there was no extra fee. The price paid was the price quoted it's just that the total was split into 2 parts. I don't see the issue. Yes someone that actually reads and understands the post prior to responding 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruiseskier Posted November 20, 2022 Author #15 Share Posted November 20, 2022 Thanks for all the responses. As I mentioned the total price was exactly as quoted and Celebrity was paid in full. I just never experienced this situation and wanted to know if it was common. The bottom line price for us was still a lot lower then other travel agents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baron Barracuda Posted November 20, 2022 #16 Share Posted November 20, 2022 If you cancel what happens to the $200 ????? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHCRUISIN Posted November 21, 2022 #17 Share Posted November 21, 2022 Just curious, if they gave you a price and you were happy with the price and booked, why do you care how the money is divided ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruiseskier Posted November 21, 2022 Author #18 Share Posted November 21, 2022 This was the first time in over 25 cruises that I saw the charges spilt. I wanted to know if it was common practice. I don't know what will happen to the $200 if we have to cancel since I wasn't aware of the spilt until I saw it on my credit card statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagoffee Posted November 21, 2022 #19 Share Posted November 21, 2022 3 hours ago, NHCRUISIN said: Just curious, if they gave you a price and you were happy with the price and booked, why do you care how the money is divided ? I would. I would never pay part of my cruise fare to a TA. Call me paranoid. I recall some years ago that some customers got shafted when a TA went out of business. i would also consider it unethical if the booking invoice did not make that distinction. IMO it is time for a new TA. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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